Star Trek Gorn Day

Star Trek: The Video Game arrives April 23 with big ambitions and a complicated heritage, but really, the thing we want know about the most is the Gorn. To recap, the Gorn are a nasty race of reptilian brutes who were famously introduced on the original Star Trek television series in “Arena,” the classic episode that first aired in January 1967. You might remember the epic battle between Capt. James T. Kirk (the T stands for “torn-shirt”) and the syrup-slow captain of a Gorn ship (played by some dude in a rigid rubber suit). Classic stuff whether you love it this much or hate it this much or can in fact no longer tell the difference.

The Gorn get their widest Starfleet spotlight ever with the new game — it creates a fuller portrait of this cold-blooded conqueror race — and that’s why we’ve decided that today is Gorn Day and the first installment of Get to Know Your Gorn series…

Wow, he is nasty — but also a somewhat regal bearing, no? In the new game, the Commander is the leader of the Gorn and his lime-colored shock troops have invaded New Vulcan, the refuge that is home to the survivor community from Mr. Spock’s obliterated homeworld. The Commander is large (10-feet tall) and in charge (which he gives him plenty of opportunity for torture and arranged blood-sport).

The Gorn Commander is a higher class of Gorn, and not far below him are the cunning and pragmatic Gorn Sentinels, one of the largest, strongest, and most vicious of the hissing invaders. Their weapon of choice is the Arc Driver, the most powerful handheld weapon in their clawed clutches — it unleashes a bolt of energy that disintegrates all organic matter — especially if they are wrapped in a red shirt. Sentinels are visually imposing but their tactical power make them more than just another ugly face.